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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27902527">No Reward Without Risk</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glitterb1234/pseuds/Glitterb1234'>Glitterb1234</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Swan Twins [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Crossover, F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 17:54:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,138</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27902527</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glitterb1234/pseuds/Glitterb1234</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A flashback in the same universe as Double or Nothing. Edythe asks Beau to the Spring Dance.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Edythe Cullen/Beau Swan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Swan Twins [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2043205</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>No Reward Without Risk</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I wrote this as a way to get over some writer's block while I was working on Double or Nothing for NaNoWriMo this year. I hope you enjoy this insight into the history of Beau and Edythe’s relationship and the Cullen family in this universe.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Edythe POV</strong>
</p>
<p>Edward sighed heavily. This was not an unusual occurrence; in one-hundred-and-change years of life, my brother had perfected his many trademark expressions of intense annoyance. Even on his best days, he preferred to radiate a carefully balanced combination of boredom, irritation and general put-upon-ness that was designed to make it seem that he had absolutely no interest in the world around him – that it did, in fact, pain him just to be here. While I could somewhat sympathise with his frustrations with the mundanity of high school, I didn't completely share his sentiments. Perhaps it was because I only saw what they wanted as opposed to their every trivial thought, but teenagers didn't exasperated me in the same way that they did him. Their desires fell into the same distinct categories that I saw over and over again in humans of all ages – love, sex, money, attention, success, fame – but the nuances of each individual still managed to interest me, even after over eighty years.</p>
<p>For example, Lily Bennett and Tyler Crowley both very much wanted to get a good grade on the English paper they had handed in this morning. But if I delved deeper, Tyler wanted the new stereo his parents had promised him if he hit a certain GPA at the end of the semester, while Lily had ambitions to outshine her cousin who had just been accepted to Yale.</p>
<p>Really, <em>our</em> dreams and wishes weren't so different, considering that we were an entirely different species with significantly more advanced mental faculties. I looked around at my family, all in their usual lunchtime attitudes: plates of food but not eating, avoiding eye contact with anyone, maintaining glamorous indifference to ward off any potential approach by hapless humans.</p>
<p>Alice wanted to get started on ordering our wardrobes for next season and was hoping the catalogues she had sent off for would arrive soon. I could tell from years of experience that the far away look in her eyes meant she was searching the future, trying to pin point the day. My sister's knowledge of the future had always made her wishes very simple - she was so certain of everything that there was rarely anything to wish for at all, except perhaps her preferred outcome on the occasion that more than one path presented itself.</p>
<p>Jasper wanted the day to be over, which wasn't uncommon at all. His immediate desires very often related to getting as far from any nearby humans as he could, more often than not battling with more primal urges to indulge his thirst at will. I had tried many times to explain to him the difference between the two types of desire; though I could see both, the conscious was always stronger than the subconscious, and much more likely to prevail, based on my observations. Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to believe me, his own bitter experience had convinced him otherwise, and it was going to take a few more decades of success with his control before he came around.</p>
<p>Eleanor wanted a decent hunt this weekend, to organise a baseball game soon, and to get Rosalie alone as soon as possible, clothing optional. All fairly standard for my eternally straightforward sister. Edward often commented that reading her thoughts was much less of an intrusion than it was for anyone else, since she never thought anything that she wouldn't say out loud. Her wants and wishes were much the same.</p>
<p>Rosalie was a complicated individual when it came to her desires. Moment to moment, there was actually surprisingly little that she wanted. In a way, she was almost as straightforward as her sometimes wife. Right now, for instance, all she really wanted was to get to the end of the day and go home so she could work on her new M3. However, Rose's long-term goals, her big dreams, were a lot more realised and, in many ways, more heart-breaking. She wanted safety and stability, to not have to move on from this place any sooner than she absolutely had to. She wanted her family to be protected and preserved, at any and all costs. Deep down, in the part of her that even she recognised as foolish, she still longed for the plan she'd had for her future once upon a time – her beautiful house and her pretty babies. I didn't delve too deeply into those images, and I never mentioned them to her. Once had been enough; neither of us needed to have that conversation again.</p>
<p>And then there was Edward. Today, as every day, my darling brother's primary wish was for everybody to just stop thinking for a little while. I had some sympathy for him but I knew that as similar as our gifts were, I had a significant advantage in that my talent generally required a level of conscious focus. Sure, I could get surface desires off a person without really thinking about it, but I did have to be looking at them. Edward picked up any thoughts within a surprisingly large vicinity, whether the person they belonged to was visible or not. Whenever he described it, it sounded maddening. Anyone in such a situation would surely wish to turn it off, so to speak, for an amount of time. As for the long term, he was concerningly blank. He had vague notions of what he might pick for a major should we continue our current personas into another trip to college; he was considering a foray into music, a passion he had somehow never indulged academically. Like Rosalie, there were wishes for the continued safety and happiness of the family. But for himself alone, there was almost nothing.</p>
<p>Really, all this was not unusual. I saw it all the time, in humans and vampires alike. The only difference was the thirst. Especially in my family, inclined as we were to what many considered self-denial, there was always an undercurrent desire, sitting quietly – or not so quietly – below everything, that wanted blood and lots of it.</p>
<p>Returning my attention to my brother and his outwardly subtle yet comparatively overdramatic sigh, I quirked an eyebrow at him.</p>
<p>
  <em>What's the matter now?</em>
</p>
<p>Edward heard me, of course, and tilted his head in my direction in the smallest of acknowledgements. Then his eyes cut across the cafeteria, zeroing in on one figure sat at a central table surrounded by friends. Edward focused his desire on a wish to say 'Him again,' then settled back into artful boredom. We'd developed this somewhat unique mode of silent communication decades ago, and it served us very well when conversations needed to be private. Alice was able to eavesdrop on his side from time to time, but that was no great issue; he often spoke with her in a similar way.</p>
<p>This particular exchange was one we'd had several times over the last few months, so Edward didn't have to specify who 'he' was and I didn't have to ask. Without turning my head, I moved my eyes from my brother to the figure whose thoughts had caught his attention.</p>
<p>Beau Swan was a gangly freshman who was very much still growing into himself. He was an ordinary looking boy, not particularly handsome or unpleasant, with curly brown hair and blue eyes. In the time I'd been observing him, I had watched him trip over bag straps, errant chair legs, his own feet and, on a frightening number of occasions, thin air. He had the sort of build that made one think he would be good at basketball, yet by all accounts he was borderline hazardous in PE. He wanted simple things: good grades, good friends, happiness for his nearest and dearest. He wanted me, but so did most of the males (and quite a few females) that I crossed paths with. Nothing terribly exciting.</p>
<p>And yet, he fascinated me.</p>
<p>I couldn't fully explain it, even to myself – certainly not to my incredulous brother. The best that I could come up with was that he wanted in a different way to everyone around him. The vast majority of his desires were turned outward, focused on the well-being of others. He wanted his father to be safe at work, though the idea of a small-town police chief being in any significant danger was mildly ludicrous. He wanted his mother to find some kind of stability and hoped her latest boyfriend might offer it. He wanted his sister not to have to be an adult so often, compensating for their mother's flightiness. Interestingly, one thing he didn't want was for his parents to get back together. Most children of divorce that I had encountered had, on some level, a wish for their broken family to be reunified. Not so Beau. The closest he got was wishing he could spend more time with his sister.</p>
<p>What had really caught and held my interest, however, was the way he wanted me. As self-centred as it was, that facet of his desire was the one that had the most pull on my attention. For starters, unlike a lot of the others at school, he only seemed interested in me, holding no secret candle for you sisters, whose attached status wasn't enough to dissuade many of our classmates. Then there was the tenor of his want. Most people who desired me – particularly, it had to be said, teenage boys – had at least an underlying sexual component. I had seen the wishes of lust play out in scenarios that would turn many people's stomachs, accompanied by thoughts that made my brother growl and shoot hostile glares at the perpetrator. Beau was far more innocent. He thought I was beautiful, of course, and there was an element of physical attraction. But his wishes didn't make me feel like an object the way others had in the past. He wanted to take me on dates and get to know me, to sit with me at lunch, to walk down the hallways hand in hand. In a nervous, nebulous sort of way, he wanted us to meet each other's families. His picture for us more resembled a cheesy high school romantic comedy than real life, but I liked it. It was a welcome change from the norm, and I had found myself more than once focusing on those images and wondering how to make them true.</p>
<p>Beau, unfortunately, was not cooperating in that regard.</p>
<p>In the six months or so since we had started attending Forks High School, my siblings and I had all fielded or avoided more than our fair share of unwelcome advances from over-confident classmates. This was not in any way a new state of affairs for us, and we were all very practiced at it. Between Alice, Edward and myself, we always had ample warning. In that same amount of time, one or more of the three of us had read, seen or heard a plan to ask me out from Beau no less than twenty times. Each and every time, he would apparently talk himself out of it – the vision would fade, his thoughts turned doubtful, the desire slid back from the forefront to a background wish again. While it was common for nervous boys to change their minds, especially once we employed various dissuading tactics, to do so that many times was very unusual and mildly maddening.</p>
<p>Thus, my fascination. Or at least, my best understanding of it. This strange curiosity couldn't completely be explained by my wish to know why one unremarkable boy wanted very much to take me to dinner and a movie yet couldn't work up the courage to approach me. Beau should mean nothing to me. He should be one of the herd, another irritant that I should ignore and forget about.</p>
<p>And yet...</p>
<p>Over the last few weeks, since the announcement of the Spring Dance, the seeds of a plan had been formulating in my mind. It was a plan that would have my siblings up in arms, I was sure; Edward had already privately expressed his displeasure and I didn't dare mention it to the others, though Alice must have seen something by now. I knew it was foolish and reckless and certain to end in disaster and heartbreak. That fact had only made me delay, not abandon, my decision.</p>
<p>If Beau wouldn't make the first move, then I would do it for him.</p>
<p>Edward made a face; he had heard my resolve solidify and he didn't like it one bit. I stared him down defiantly.</p>
<p>
  <em>Approve or do not, brother, it makes no difference to me. Try to stop me if you wish – we shall see how far you get.</em>
</p>
<p>For a moment, I thought he might take me up on the offer here and now. He wavered on the edge of speaking, very much wanting to shake (or punch) some sense into me. But I knew that he knew me too well to try it. He might be able to see all my moves before I made them, but that didn't help him any when I could use his larger size to my advantage in throwing him off balance in ways he couldn't defend against. Or when I exploited that ticklish spot at the small of his back. I couldn't claim to be a hardened warrior like Jasper, but after a century, I was an expert in fighting Edward.</p>
<p>The lunch bell loomed, and I decided that I had had enough judgemental looks for one afternoon. I scooped up my lunch tray, said a cursory goodbye to my siblings and made my way out of the room. I diverted my route slightly, charting a course to the trash that took me right past Beau's table. Just as I came level with him, I turned to look at him, not a subtle glance this time, but a deliberately obvious twist of my head. While he hadn't been watching me, for once, I let my hair swish out to catch his attention, and we locked eyes over the heads of McKayla Newton and Logan Mallory. The wide blue depths were startled, by my nearness or my attention I couldn't tell. I heard his heart surge and a delectable pink tint arose on the peaks of his cheekbones. I absorbed the delightful effect for a moment before dealing the final blow – I smiled at him. It was just a small flash of teeth, not wanting to scare him – that would be the opposite of helpful right now – but it was there. His mouth dropped open. Our eyes held for a moment and though it seemed an unforgivable cliché, even to myself, I could have sworn that time stood still. It was the length of one step, maybe two, yet it felt we were staring at each other for hours. Then I was past him entirely and I released him, the smile not slipping from my face. It wasn't often that I exerted my appeal like this, and it felt good. On a whim, I glanced back over my shoulder at him when I reached the bin; he was still watching me, chin still dropped, eyes bugging wide with shock. I allowed myself a small giggle and then, because I was apparently playing with fire today, I gave a large, exaggerated wink that he would surely be able to see, even across the distance between us. Then I swept around and exited the cafeteria.</p>
<p>I was going to catch all kinds of hell from my brothers and sisters later, but my god, it had been worth it.</p>
<p>Thankfully, I was alone in my last two classes of the day. Edward and Alice were posing as a year younger than the rest of us, so I rarely if ever had class with them; Rosalie, Jasper and Eleanor were scattered across the school in the afternoon.</p>
<p>Not needing to give my full attention to topics that I probably knew more about than the teachers, I used the time to plan. I had planted the seed of my interest, so he would hopefully not be so surprised when I asked him to the dance. The difficulty would be in getting him alone. Giving my family the slip wouldn't be too hard, though it would probably be good to time it so that Edward was otherwise occupied and unable to intervene. I couldn't claim to know Beau's schedule in any particular detail, but I had gotten the impression that he was almost always surrounded by friends. He wasn't driving yet; I had seen the distinctive police cruiser in the pickup line every afternoon, and the Chief tended to be fairly punctual. Regardless, the havoc of the end of the day wasn't the atmosphere I wanted. I understood all too well the power of gossip in a small town. If I asked him anywhere at school, anywhere with witnesses, everyone would know about it by the next day at the latest, and Beau would likely be mortified by the attention. The only sure-fire option seemed to be calling on him at home, which wasn't really an option – showing up randomly at the house of a boy I had never spoken to would come off as bizarre and set too many questions in the minds of both Beau and his father.</p>
<p>I went round and round in circles, trying to work out excuses to get him alone that wouldn't set off alarm bells or draw undue attention, but by the end of my second class I was no closer than I had been at lunch. Who knew this could be so difficult? I suddenly had a great sympathy for all the girls I knew were struggling with this too, and admiration for those who had already made their invitations. In the back of my head, I was also working on the wording I would use, possible responses to anything he might say, and what tactics I could use to convince him. I didn't think I would need much.</p>
<p>As I walked from my last class to the parking lot, still deep in thought, Alice sidled up next to me.</p>
<p>"Chief Swan has to work late tonight," she commented casually, as if we were discussing our own parent's work schedule and not a total stranger's.</p>
<p>I matched her tone. "Does he indeed? And why, pray tell, do I need to know this, sister dearest?"</p>
<p>"Because, sister darling, it means that his son is going to have to walk home, and for the better part of that walk he will be entirely alone." She smiled like the cat that got the cream. "Meaning that you finally have an opportunity to enact that delightful little plan of yours, away from all possible prying eyes."</p>
<p>My smile grew to match hers. Of course I could count on Alice to be one hundred percent on board with my insane plan. She always seemed to be on side with the impossible. I wondered idly what she might have seen to make her go along with it, then decided it was probably better not to ask. Nothing spoiled an experience like knowing what was going to happen, and I wanted this to be an experience. Still, I couldn't help being a little curious – it couldn't hurt to be prepared.</p>
<p>"Any hints on what to expect when I do? At least whether I can expect success."</p>
<p>She shook her head, making a somewhat disgruntled face. "The perils of decisions not yet made. I'm afraid I can't see what he will say until you ask him."</p>
<p>I sighed just a little. "Oh well, it was worth a try. I suppose I shall have to hope for the best, just like any other girl."</p>
<p>Alice clutched at an imaginary string of pearls around her neck, her face the picture of mock horror. "Like any other girl? Oh, how dreadful!"</p>
<p>The theatrics were a step too far and we both fell about giggling. I could tell we were drawing some stares from people around us, but for once I really didn't care about moderating our image for public consumption. Just for a moment, we were only sisters, not creatures both over a century old with secrets that would turn the stomachs of some of our classmates.</p>
<p>We walked together until we were almost at the parking lot, at which point Alice left my side as abruptly as she'd joined it. For the sake of image, we rotated driving duties between the four of us who were posing as sophomore – sixteen being just old enough to drive in Washington – and fortunately it wasn't my turn today. I bypassed my waiting siblings, slipping into a crowd of freshman heading for the two school buses that served those who couldn't drive or catch a ride. When I was out of sight of the parking lot, I split off from the group and onto the sidewalk leading off campus, heading in the direction of the Swans' house. I was embarrassed but not exactly ashamed to admit that I had sought it out several weeks ago and done a bit of spying, not that it had been of any great benefit to me; all I had really gleaned was that Beau did the lion's share of the cooking and the pair of them watched a lot of sports.</p>
<p>I wasn't moving at full speed, cognisant of the cars that still occasionally passed me by even in less populated areas. Nevertheless, it didn't take long at all for me to catch up to Beau. I recognised the slope of his shoulders beneath a nondescript black rain coat, hood left down since it wasn't currently raining, his curls dancing slightly in the light wind. He walked with his backpack slung over one shoulder, absentmindedly kicking small stones that had found their way onto the sidewalk. As I got closer, I could hear him humming softly to himself, not quite tuneful enough for me to pick up the song. I had the sudden, surprisingly forceful urge to know what he was singing.</p>
<p>Not wanting to startle him, I deliberately put a little more weight into my footsteps as I got closer, changing from my usual soundless tread to a more human light tapping. Still, he was obviously distracted, because I got a good deal closer making (to my mind) plenty of noise and he hadn't so much as glanced over his shoulder. I quickly realised that I was going to have to do more to get his attention, and it was probably going to make him jump despite my efforts. Resigned, I broke into a pantomime of a gentle jog, as if it were a struggle for me to catch up. Which it would have been, had I been human, his legs being significantly longer than mine.</p>
<p>"Beau!" I called, loud enough for him to hear from about ten feet away. As I had predicted, he jolted and stumbled slightly; I felt a thrill of panic as I was sure he would fall into the road, right into the path of a passing pick-up. But he didn't, instead righting himself and turning to stare at me with a look that started curious and migrated rapidly to complete shock once he saw who was following him. He gaped at me as I reached him, letting my breath get just a little heavier to make it seem like I was having a hard time.</p>
<p>I put my hands on my hips and smiled at him as if in mild exasperation. "Finally! I've been trying to catch up to you since school. You aren't an easy boy to pin down."</p>
<p>"Um..." was his very eloquent response.</p>
<p>I let loose the giggle that rose up at his expression – he looked like he'd been hit in the face unexpectedly and wasn't sure how to respond.</p>
<p>"I'm Edythe, by the way, I don't think we've had a chance to speak."</p>
<p>He blinked a few times, then shook his head, which seemed to give him a little more clarity of thought at least. "Yeah, I... I know who you are. I'm Beau. But..." He blushed. "Obviously, you knew that, you said my name. Wow, I can't believe you know my name."</p>
<p>"Of course I know your name," I said like it was obvious. "Why wouldn't I?"</p>
<p>He looked incredulous. "Because you're you and I'm me and we have no classes or anything together. I mean, I have Algebra with your brother and I'm pretty sure that your sister's in my History class, I honestly can't remember right now because you are here and talking to me and it's kind of hard to think when that's happening and now I'm rambling I am so sorry." He took a deep breath, having delivered most of this speech on one lung full of air, and looked mildly terrified. "I swear, I am normally at least a bit more coherent than this."</p>
<p>"I'm sure you are," I assured him, exerting considerable effort not to laugh out loud. "Well, now that we've been properly introduced, I had something I wanted to ask you."</p>
<p>"Really? Me? I mean..." He cleared his throat. "What did you need?"</p>
<p>"Actually, I was wondering of you do me the honour of accompanying me to the Spring Dance on Saturday. You know, assuming that you don't already have a date."</p>
<p>Which was entirely possible. Beau wasn't generally considered a heart-throb in the strictest sense, but I wasn't the only girl with an eye on him. Erica Yorkie had some interesting fantasies, and McKayla... the less said about that girl, the better.</p>
<p>Just when I thought I had let Beau regain some semblance of composure, he lost it all over again. His jaw dropped like it had in the cafeteria earlier and he blinked rapidly, obviously processing my – to him – out of left field offer. I waited, letting him get it all out of his system.</p>
<p>"You want... go... dance... with me?" he sputtered perplexedly after a long moment of silence broken only by the swish of wind through nearby trees.</p>
<p>"I do," I confirmed, risking another smile. His heart started beating like a hummingbird's wings. Oddly, the sound didn't set me thinking about the hot pulse of his blood the way similar reactions from others had done in the past. I had barely even paid attention to his scent this entire time. I was far too focused on what his answer would be. When it came, I started laughing.</p>
<p>"Are you sure?"</p>
<p>I felt a little bit bad, standing there giggling at his confusion, but it was just so funny that it was all I could do. I saw his eyes go just slightly out of focus and quietly enjoyed the impact I was having on him. It was an effect I knew well and often wielded to my own or my family's benefit when necessary. Never before had I wanted to cause the reaction that Beau was having simply because I wanted someone to find me appealing, with no ulterior motive. Except, of course, that I <em>was</em> trying to get something out of him.</p>
<p>"I'm certain," I assured him when I had calmed down a little. "What do you say? Will you go with me?"</p>
<p>He still looked unconvinced, and thoroughly discombobulated to boot. "I... I really don't know..."</p>
<p>"Has someone already asked you?" I pressed, though I was fairly sure that no one had.</p>
<p>"No, no one's asked me."</p>
<p>"Do you not want to go with me?"</p>
<p>"No!" His response was immediate, loud and forceful, followed quickly by another ramble. "I mean no, I don't not want to go with you, not no, I don't want to go with you... I'm not sure I know what I just said. I want to go to the dance with you but..." His expression had turned very unhappy all of a sudden.</p>
<p>"But?" I prompted.</p>
<p>"I... I can't drive yet," he admitted as if it were something shameful. "So I couldn't come pick you up, unless I ask my dad to drive us, and I don't think you want to show up to the dance in the back of a police car."</p>
<p>I gave him a soft smile, a distinct feeling that there was something else going on creeping in. His desires were warring with each other; one part of him very much wanted to dance with me, the other wanted to avoid the possibility at all costs. I wondered if the balance issues I'd observed would cause problems for his dancing and make him nervous. It seemed highly likely.</p>
<p>"That's okay," I assured him, returning to his point and keeping my suspicions to myself. "One of my parents can drive us. They both have very nice cars. Or I could drive, of course. And since it's a girl's choice, I think we can do away with antiquated gender stereotypes like the boy having to be the one to pick up his date, wouldn't you say?"</p>
<p>"I... guess?" It came out as a question. His uncertainty, while charming, was beginning to hinder the proceedings. Time to force a final answer out of him. Summoning all my courage and sense of presence, I looked deep into his eyes.</p>
<p>"Will you go to the dance with me?" I asked. I was abruptly more nervous than I had ever been in my life. It sent me mentally reeling for half a second before I recovered my equilibrium.</p>
<p>Beau blinked twice, frowned very slightly, then finally, blessedly, said, "Yes."</p>
<p>I could not have restrained the beaming smile that spread across my face if I had tried. The effect it had on Beau was exhilarating; I could practically see him melting.</p>
<p>"Wonderful," I enthused. "I'll pick you up at seven on Saturday, does that sound alright?"</p>
<p>He was apparently beyond words at this point, because he just nodded.</p>
<p>"Perfect. See you tomorrow, Beau."</p>
<p>I skipped lightly around him, continuing down the thin strip of sidewalk until I was almost out of sight. At the last moment, I turned back to take one last look at him over my shoulder. He was still standing where I'd left him, the expression on his face completely dumbstruck. But there was something else there, a hint of something happy and excited. A little spark of hope.</p>
<p>I knew exactly how he was feeling.</p>
<p>I gave him one last wave, which he returned distractedly, then carried on around the corner. As soon as I was out of his eyeline, I ducked into the forest and took off at a full sprint, letting all my joy flow into my run. My smile was fixed firmly to my face all the way home.</p>
<p>I didn't have to be Alice to know that this was going to be fun.</p>
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